The Importance of the President of the Republic: “The Accordion-Power”
“Italy is the new populist frontier”. These words were spoken by Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s ex-strategist, a few days after the March 4 Italian elections. He is currently traveling around Europe to test the populist waters, hoping for the birth of a European Populist Internationale (a European international alliance between populist parties). In his view the Italian elections have been crucial for the global populist movement.
Half of Italy voted for anti-establishment parties. The increase in the number of votes received by the Five Star Movement and right-wing parties the League and Brothers of Italy is emblematic. Each mobilizes a different populist strategy, but they share some underlying positions like stopping immigration and weakening Italy's relationship with the EU. Italy has moved from what was a right/left cleavage to something new: mainstream parties versus populist parties.
The elections delivered an unclear verdict on who will hold a parliamentary majority, but the triumph of these anti-system parties is undeniable. The Five Star movement obtained 32-33 % of the vote and the coalition of the four right-wing parties obtained 36-37 %, just short of the 40% necessary to gain a majority.
Uncertainty generates confusion: there are many doubts about the delicate bureaucratic task of forming a government and the intricate mechanisms involved could turn out to be more complicated than public opinion and the media think. This is where Italy's President of the Republic enters into the picture.
Italy has both a President and a Prime Minister. The President is the Head of State and serves for a term of 7 years. The Prime Minister is the head of the government, and is often selected through negotiations among different factions in the parliament depending on the outcome of elections. When there is no clear majority, the President of the Republic plays a more important role in helping to navigate these delicate negotiations. The President ultimately is the one who appoints the Prime Minister, however, he must be assured that his choice will receive enough support in parliament for the government to be able to function.
Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic
Sergio Mattarella is the current President of the Republic of Italy. Mattarella has a long experience in politics, and has worked as a professor of constitutional law at the University of Palermo as well as serving as a judge on the Constitutional Court. He also devised the last Italian majority electoral law, known as the “Mattarellum”. He was elected in 2015 and his mandate will expire in 2022. In Italy, the President of the Republic is elected by a joint session of parliament. His role may be considered comparable to the bellows of an accordion, expanding and shrinking depending on the situation.
As written in Article 92 of the Italian Constitution: “The Government of the Republic (the executive-branch) is made up of the President of the Council (the Prime Minister) and the Ministers who together form the Council of Ministers (the equivalent of the U.S. President’s ‘Cabinet’).
The first session of the new parliament will be on or around March 23, and the first task will be to elect the Speakers of the two chambers. Next, President Mattarella will start consultations for the formation of a new government. There are two different possible outcomes: he can give to the future Prime Minister a full mandate to form a new government, in the event that there is a clear majority, or an “exploratory” one, in the event that there is not a clear majority and a candidate has to prove that they can muster enough support in parliament to form a government. The mandate which will probably be exploratory, is expected to go to Luigi Di Maio, the Five Star Movement leader, or League leader Matteo Salvini.
What will happen? What will be the possible alliances? Stay tuned for updates!
